“Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”
declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea - "The order of the reading in the Greek, at Verse 20, would indicate that the word 'first' refers to Damascus, where he began to witness for Christ. It is true that wherever he went, until the end of Acts, he consistently ministered to the Jews first, but he surely did not go 'first' to the Jews in Palestine and 'then to the Gentile regions. The meaning of Verse 20 is simply that he ministered to both Jews and Gentiles." (Stam)
that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance - Paul's declaration that he had taught Jews and Gentiles alike 'that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance,' has led some to the unwarranted assumption that the apostle, during this period, had preached 'the gospel of the kingdom,' even as John the Baptist, our Lord and the twelve had done. Such a conclusion would be contrary to the whole record, however. A moment's reflection will show that the true soul winner, still today, will seek to persuade men to 'repent,' lit., 'change their minds' and 'turn to God' and then 'do works' consistent with that change. This is still so, even though the theme of our message is the finished work of Christ and the riches of His grace. In the presentation of Messiah to Israel, however, the emphasis was placed upon repentance. Most of the Jews rested in the fact that they, as Abraham's descendants, were God's people regardless of their conduct. Hence their need to change their minds and do works consistent with this change. It is doubtless because Paul was particularly addressing one with a Jewish background that he put the matter in this way." (Stam)
To this day I... saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass - "Paul had, up to this time, proclaimed numerous truths which cannot be found in the writings of either the prophets or Moses. Neither the prophets nor Moses had foretold the salvation of the Gentiles through the fall of Israel, nor the 'gospel of the grace of God,' in which neither circumcision nor the law was to have any part. Nor had they even hinted that Jews and Gentiles would be baptized into one body by the Spirit. Nor had they said—or known—anything about believers being 'caught up' to heaven by 'the Lord Himself.' Yet all this had been proclaimed by Paul prior to this time (Rom 11:11-2; Acts 20:24; 1 Cor 12:13; 1 Thes 4:16-17). And had not Paul written of 'the mystery' and its associated 'mysteries' in his early epistles? (Rom 11:25; 16:25; 1 Cor 2:6-7; 4:1; 15:51). Is the mystery to be found in prophecy—that which was 'hiddne' and 'kept secret,' in that which had been 'made known'? Indeed, even if we were to admit that Paul proclaimed the kingdom during his entire Acts ministry, he would then still have taught more than 'the prophets and Moses did say should come,' for even in 'the gospel of the kingdom,' our Lord uttered things which had been 'kept secret from the foundation of the world' (Matt 13:35); truths which neither the prophets nor Moses had even known about. (It is true that our Lord Himself was a prophet, but Paul clearly refers to the prophets whom Agrippa believed - Acts 26:27). Do the facts, then, contradict Paul's statement before Agrippa? In no wise. The trouble is that our extremist friends have quoted only half his statement. The first part of his statement, in Verse 22, is clearly qualified by the remainder, in Verse 23: 'That Christ should suffer, and that He should be the first [Not in time, but in rank. See 1 Cor 15:20,23 and Col 1:18.] that should rise from the dead, and should show light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.' In other words, the facts that Christ should suffer, rise from the dead and show light to Israel and the Gentiles, were nothing but what the prophets and Moses had already predicted. Why then should the Jews so bitterly oppose Paul's ministry to the Gentiles? This alone was Paul's argument." (Stam)
declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea - "The order of the reading in the Greek, at Verse 20, would indicate that the word 'first' refers to Damascus, where he began to witness for Christ. It is true that wherever he went, until the end of Acts, he consistently ministered to the Jews first, but he surely did not go 'first' to the Jews in Palestine and 'then to the Gentile regions. The meaning of Verse 20 is simply that he ministered to both Jews and Gentiles." (Stam)
that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance - Paul's declaration that he had taught Jews and Gentiles alike 'that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance,' has led some to the unwarranted assumption that the apostle, during this period, had preached 'the gospel of the kingdom,' even as John the Baptist, our Lord and the twelve had done. Such a conclusion would be contrary to the whole record, however. A moment's reflection will show that the true soul winner, still today, will seek to persuade men to 'repent,' lit., 'change their minds' and 'turn to God' and then 'do works' consistent with that change. This is still so, even though the theme of our message is the finished work of Christ and the riches of His grace. In the presentation of Messiah to Israel, however, the emphasis was placed upon repentance. Most of the Jews rested in the fact that they, as Abraham's descendants, were God's people regardless of their conduct. Hence their need to change their minds and do works consistent with this change. It is doubtless because Paul was particularly addressing one with a Jewish background that he put the matter in this way." (Stam)
To this day I... saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass - "Paul had, up to this time, proclaimed numerous truths which cannot be found in the writings of either the prophets or Moses. Neither the prophets nor Moses had foretold the salvation of the Gentiles through the fall of Israel, nor the 'gospel of the grace of God,' in which neither circumcision nor the law was to have any part. Nor had they even hinted that Jews and Gentiles would be baptized into one body by the Spirit. Nor had they said—or known—anything about believers being 'caught up' to heaven by 'the Lord Himself.' Yet all this had been proclaimed by Paul prior to this time (Rom 11:11-2; Acts 20:24; 1 Cor 12:13; 1 Thes 4:16-17). And had not Paul written of 'the mystery' and its associated 'mysteries' in his early epistles? (Rom 11:25; 16:25; 1 Cor 2:6-7; 4:1; 15:51). Is the mystery to be found in prophecy—that which was 'hiddne' and 'kept secret,' in that which had been 'made known'? Indeed, even if we were to admit that Paul proclaimed the kingdom during his entire Acts ministry, he would then still have taught more than 'the prophets and Moses did say should come,' for even in 'the gospel of the kingdom,' our Lord uttered things which had been 'kept secret from the foundation of the world' (Matt 13:35); truths which neither the prophets nor Moses had even known about. (It is true that our Lord Himself was a prophet, but Paul clearly refers to the prophets whom Agrippa believed - Acts 26:27). Do the facts, then, contradict Paul's statement before Agrippa? In no wise. The trouble is that our extremist friends have quoted only half his statement. The first part of his statement, in Verse 22, is clearly qualified by the remainder, in Verse 23: 'That Christ should suffer, and that He should be the first [Not in time, but in rank. See 1 Cor 15:20,23 and Col 1:18.] that should rise from the dead, and should show light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.' In other words, the facts that Christ should suffer, rise from the dead and show light to Israel and the Gentiles, were nothing but what the prophets and Moses had already predicted. Why then should the Jews so bitterly oppose Paul's ministry to the Gentiles? This alone was Paul's argument." (Stam)
No comments:
Post a Comment